Universally known as the greatest Celtic ever Bill Russell expressed his gratitude to Pierce passionately saying:

“One of the greatest things that can happen to an athlete is retiring as a Celtic.”

One thing that is already being missed since Pierce’s retirement is the toughness and competitiveness he brought to the NBA. He always made his matchups with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James personal, and to this day, he believes LeBron is lucky they were not closer in age. Telling ESPN’s Cari Champion:

“I always said that if I and he [LeBron] were of the same age, I’d be different. He might not have gotten those championships in Miami If I was 26 and he was 26.”

While NBA fans across the country can debate the legacy of the former NBA Finals MVP, let’s just take a minute to reminisce on what he really brought to the NBA.